‘It was your American statesmen and poets such as Lincoln and Whitman who proclaimed to the world democratic thought and feeling, and the democratic way of life, in imperishable words,’ German novelist and Nobel Prize winner Thomas Mann stated in 1938. He arrived in New York for a coast to coast lecture tour entitled The Coming Victory of Democracy, inspired by Walt Whitman. More than hundred years before Mann’s arrival in America Alexis de Tocqueville wrote his brilliant study Democracy in America. His observations on the nature of a democratic society were, however, more sober than the euphoric evocations of the American bard and the German novelist. Without the burden of tradition, authorities and social classes, American society would be pragmatic, utilitarian, individualistic, materialistic.

What is the state of democracy today in the USA? Why do many Americans consider their political system ‘broke’? What are the consequences of this, now and in the future? What remains of Walt Whitman and Thomas Mann’s idea that literature and a liberal education are the soul of a true democracy? And when watching the news today, how should we understand the undercurrent of racism in American society; the religious fundamentalism; the massive amounts of money as part of the elections; the role of anti-politics ‘politicians’ in the election of the American president; the many broken dreams?!

Symposium: Legal Diversity and the Universal Vocation of International LawMcGill University’s Faculty of Law and the Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies, Leiden University, have the pleasure of inviting you to a one-day symposium on the theme of legal diversity and the theory and practice of contemporary international law. A detailed Symposium agenda will follow upon registration.
For registration or additional information please email: events.grotius@cdh.leidenuniv.nl.
Date/Time: Thursday, June 2, 2016 9:30 AM to 5:00 PM
Location(s): Schouwburgstraat 2, 2511 VA, Den Haag,

The Ambassador of Canada, H.E. Sabine Nölke, will host a post-conference reception that evening, at the Canadian Official Residence (Groot Haesebroekseweg 44, Wassenaar), from 18:30 to 20:30.

Thematic Questions:
The speakers from various Hague legal institutions and from academia will be asked to address one or more of the following themes:
Legal pluralism, legal diversity and international law: retrospective and prospective views; experiences from the practice of various Hague legal institutions; traditions of multiculturalism and legal pluralism (including the McGill Law Faculty educational method);
Human rights, peremptory norms, international legal standards and legal / cultural diversity;
“Cosmopolitan attitudes, methods & officials” (Patrick Glenn) in the practice of international law;
“Harmonious coexistence rather than obligatory universality” (Patrick Glenn) & universality through diversity (ICJ Vice-President Yusuf);
The enrichment of international law through principles and approaches of diverse traditions / legal systems (former ICJ Vice-President Weeramantry);
Envisioning future pathways for international law / institutions in the light of global legal diversity.

Conference proceedings will be inspired in part by the works of the late Professors Patrick Glenn and Roderick Macdonald of McGill University, Faculty of Law, including their study of legal traditions of the world and legal pluralism, interlinked with Canadian traditions of multiculturalism.